Ocean energy

Ocean or marine energy technologies refer to all forms of renewable energy derived from the sea.

There are two broad types of ocean energy: mechanical energy from the tides and waves, and thermal energy from the sun’s heat.

Ocean energy is classified as:

Wave energy: This is generated by converting the energy within ocean waves (swells) into other forms of energy (currently only electricity). There are many different wave energy technologies being developed and trialled to convert wave energy into electricity

Tidal energy: This is generated by harnessing the movement of tides. Tides contain both potential energy, related to the vertical fluctuations in sea level, as well as kinetic energy, related to the horizontal motion of the water.

Ocean thermal energy: This is generated by converting the temperature difference between the ocean’s surface water and deeper water into useful energy. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plants may be land-based as well as floating or grazing. This has a range of applications for Australia, including electricity generation.

Here is just a sample of what our ocean energy projects are achieving. ARENA’s Carnegie Wave Energy project is developing technology that allows us to go further offshore where there is greater wave power. This new technology hopes to generate four times more power than previous wave technology.

How is ocean energy used in Australia?

Ocean energy technologies are at an early and exciting stage of development.

There are a small number of pilot-scale ocean energy projects in Australia, some of which are supported by ARENA.

Related project: bioWAVE Ocean Pilot at Port Fairy

This project will demonstrate an innovative new method for converting wave energy into electricity using the patented bioWAVE technology that efficiently converts wave energy to mechanical energy and then uses a unique mechanical-to-electrical energy converter.

Ocean waves are an abundant and consistent source of renewable energy. Development of Australian technologies that effectively harvest this energy could lead to employment and manufacturing opportunities in the renewable energy sector as well as increased use of wave energy as a renewable source of electricity.

Related project: Carnegie CETO 6 technology

This project will deploy the next generation of Carnegie’s 100% owned and invented CETO wave energy technology.

Carnegie will undertake design, construction, deployment and demonstration of a grid-connected wave generation project with up to 3MW peak installed capacity off Garden Island, Western Australia. This project will use Carnegie’s Australian invented and owned CETO technology, building on the learnings from their Perth Wave Energy Project, and applying these to the next generation, CETO 6.